THOUSAND OAKS >> The reminders of the Super Bowl were strewn everywhere the Rams locker room. Jerseys, locker-room name plates, commemorative footballs and the like sat in various players’ lockers.

On a day when players had their end-of-season physical exams and final meetings, less than 48 hours removed from a dismal 13-3 loss to New England, the pain felt fresh, but soon it will be replaced. Things never stop in the NFL, and in just over two months, the Rams’ offseason program will begin.

That’s enough time to heal, physically and emotionally, but there’s still work to be done. The Rams might enter the 2019 season as betting favorites to repeat as NFC champions, but they won’t remain static.

As the offseason begins, here are the five most-important things — in chronological order — the Rams must do to return to the Super Bowl, and perhaps win it this time.

1. Stabilize the coaching staff.

Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor is off to become the Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach. As of now, no other staff defections are expected, and while that can change in the coming weeks, the Rams seem to be fortunate not to be losing a lot of coaches, but that one important decision is ahead.

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No matter what, quarterback Jared Goff will be playing under his fourth position coach in four seasons. That’s remarkable, but not distressing, because the connection between Goff and Coach Sean McVay clearly is the most important one on the team. Still, it’s another new voice in Goff’s ear.

One published report last week said the Rams intend to move Jedd Fisch to quarterbacks coach, have Shane Waldron exclusively work as pass-game coordinator and hire Wes Phillips — son of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips — as tight ends coach.

This would make a ton of sense. Fisch, the former UCLA offensive coordinator who assisted McVay this season as a loosely defined “senior offensive assistant,” already knows Goff and the system. Phillips worked with McVay in Washington and had success there with tight ends.

2. Make important roster decisions.

Again, the Rams aren’t facing a lot of decisions, but there are some big ones. Left guard Rodger Saffold, nose tackle Ndamukong Suh, linebacker Dante Fowler and free safety Lamarcus Joyner are set to become unrestricted free agents in mid-March.

The Rams need to free up some salary-cap room because of pending raises for players such as running back Todd Gurley and defensive lineman Aaron Donald. Suh and Joyner cost a combined total of almost $26 million this season, so it seems unlikely that either will return. The Rams also could create room by cutting a player with a substantial contract, such as Mark Barron or Michael Brockers.

The Rams can use their “franchise tag” on one player — as they did with Joyner last season — and bring him back for a one-year, guaranteed contract. The Rams don’t have to use it, but if they do, Fowler and Saffold would seem to be the most-likely options. Otherwise, the Rams’ roster is relatively stable, and they’ll look to add through the draft and perhaps a couple mid-level free agents.

Also looming is the decision from left tackle and team captain Andrew Whitworth, who said he is not yet certain whether he will return for a 14th season. If Whitworth retires, the Rams will have a huge hole to fill — rookie Joe Noteboom presumably would step up — and they might be forced to use the franchise tag on Saffold in order to retain some stability on the line.

3. Take Jared Goff to another level.

What an odd season it was for Goff. At Thanksgiving, he stood squarely in the NFL MVP conversation, after a magnificent victory over Kansas City. In his final eight games, including the playoffs, Goff threw 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions and reached the 300-yard mark only once.

That’s tough to reconcile. It seemed clear that opponents defended the Rams differently in the second half of the season, and part of that is on McVay to do a better job of adapting (more on that below). Yet this is a critical time for Goff, because he’s now able to sign a contract extension. The clock on his rookie contract is ticking, and not long from now, the Rams will have to decide whether to invest a lot of money in Goff.

It’s clear that Goff has all the tools to be a top NFL quarterback. He has displayed them for most of the past two seasons, and his connection with McVay is strong enough that it could last, successfully, for the next decade.

Yet the lingering memory of Goff will be of the Super Bowl, of him looking confused and tentative and throwing off his back foot. This will be an important offseason for Goff because, fair or not, questions about his ability to be an elite quarterback will resume when training camp starts in July.

4. Re-examine the offensive game plan.

McVay is rightfully heralded as a brilliant offensive mind. The things he’s done since the start of 2017, to turn the NFL’s worst offense into a high-scoring machine, have been magnificent. Not only that, but the Rams’ offense in 2018 looked much different than it did in 2017. McVay didn’t rest last offseason, and he can’t now.

Set aside, for a moment, the seemingly baffling decision to minimize Gurley’s role in the Super Bowl. That’s one game. More troubling for the Rams is that opposing defenses seemed to adjust to the Rams’ attack late in the season — particularly after receiver Cooper Kupp tore an ACL — and the Rams didn’t adjust back.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Brian Flores put on a coaching masterclass in the Super Bowl. McVay’s in-game adjustments were minimal at best, and it was almost shocking to see the Rams’ offense look so vanilla and ineffective. McVay is a master of self-scouting, and he’s going to have to take a look at how to make quick, efficient adjustments when things go sideways.

There’s a lot of stuff here, but the bottom line is that the Rams got to the Super Bowl. They faced high preseason expectations, then won their division, won 13 games and went down to New Orleans and overcame a double-digit deficit to win the NFC championship. That’s an extraordinary season.

There shouldn’t be any panic within the Rams. For all the talk of their “Super Bowl or bust” strategy from last offseason, they still have their core players — Goff, Gurley, Aaron Donald, Brandin Cooks, etc. — locked up for multiple seasons.

No team ever remains static, and the Patriots are the perfect example of how a team can change complementary parts on an annual basis and continue winning, but in spite of the Super Bowl disappointment, the Rams are set up to enjoy success for years to come.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.